Friday, January 25, 2019

Southern Oregon Speedway Makes More Progress During 2018 Season

White
City, Oregon...There was good news at Southern Oregon Speedway in 2018.
In his third year as promoter of the 23 year old speedway, Mike McCann
of KJE Enterprises had people talking. By season's end, people were
talking about how there hadn't been that many cars seen at the speedway
in several years. People were noticing. The turnaround effort of McCann
and his staff is still very much a work-in-progress, but you can't help
but notice the progress that has been made in three years.

The
Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Car division continues to grow as several
talented young drivers make their first laps in a Sprint Car. The IMCA
Sport Modified division is beginning to deliver the numbers people have
been saying they were capable of. The IMCA Modifieds quietly had their
best season in three years. The Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association
also had its best year in three seasons. The fact is, there was
something to brag about for every division at the track this past
season.

The speedway continues to offer up some big
races, and the car count seen at the second annual R Charles Snyder
Salute was the biggest in a decade at over 130 cars. Earlier in the
season, the Roger Haudenshild Tribute Race set the initial high mark
with nearly 100 cars. The schedule offered a little something for
everybody throughout the course of the season. When the finale was run,
there were enough cars in both the Sprint Car and Sport Modified
divisions to necessitate a B Main. This was the first time that two
divisions needed B Mains at the speedway for a regular show in several
years. People are getting excited about coming back to Southern Oregon
Speedway again.

David Hibbard set out to win his first
local track championship. He put up numbers throughout the season that
left little doubt that he would be the champion. He won five of the
first seven races of the season and finished second the other two times.
By then, there was little doubt that he would win the championship.
Despite blowing a motor at the Iron Head Nationals, David secured his
championship by merely starting the second to last race of the season.
His third place finish in the finale was his eighth Top 3 finish of the
year, winning him the championship by a wide margin ahead of Jeffrey
Hudson.

Hudson found himself in a good battle with
Bailey Hibbard and rookie Blaine Cory for second in the standings. By
season's end, only 19 points separated Hudson from fourth place Cory.
After missing most of the previous season with a blown motor, Hudson had
a solid season with two season-high seconds and two thirds as well as
one Scramble win. He proved how versatile he is when he took his wing
off and finished second in the Wingless Sprint Car Challenge race,
presented by Herz Precision Parts. Though the feature win eluded him,
Hudson improved noticeably throughout the year and continues to evolve
as one of the rising young stars of Oregon racing.

2018
wasn't the best of seasons for Bailey Hibbard, but he won the second
race of the season. His second place finish at the first September race
netted him third in the standings. It was the only other Top 3 finish he
had for the season. He also picked up a pair of wins in the first two
Scrambles of the season. Cory hit his stride midway though the season
with two seconds and two thirds. In doing so, he became a threat to
Hudson for second in the standings. Unfortunately, a late season flip
derailed that effort, but as the fourth ranked driver, he was also this
season's top rookie.

The driver who had everybody
talking at season's end was rising young star Tanner Holmes. Holmes
opted to travel around the state, but he was fast when he ran at his
home track. After two second place finishes during the season, Holmes
ended things with a pair of feature wins. His season finale win was most
impressive as he went from fifth to first in the final seven laps.
Tanner also had a win in the Scramble and just managed to pass Aaron
Miller and Enrique Jaime at the finale to finish fifth in the standings.
Jaime had his two third-place finishes in the first three races, but a
blown motor forced him to miss races and settle for seventh in the
standings. Miller made every race and kept coming back even when his
luck wasn't with him. A heat race win during the year was among his
season highlights along with a pair of sevenths and two eighth place
finishes in the Main Event.

Summer Series Sprint Car
star Garen Linder returned to his home track and teamed up with TJ
Winningham to grab the $2,000 prize in the Iron Head Nationals ahead of
the impressive Holmes. A week earlier, 2016 champion Jake Wheeler was
victorious. Mike Wheeler had a season-best second place in the finale, a
race he led up until the last lap. Season best third place finishes
were turned in by Washington visitor Eric Turner and Hedge Carter.
Linder also had one third place finish. 2017 champion Kyler Barraza,
Winningham, Charlie Thompson and Mike Wheeler each had a win in the
Scramble.

With $3,500 on the line in the Herz
Precision Parts Cascade Wingless Sprint Car Challenge, Californian Geoff
Ensign teamed up with Ted Finkenbinder to defend his race win of the
previous season. Hudson was an impressive second ahead of Oregon
Wingless Sprint star Lindsay Barney.

In the IMCA
Modified championship battle, Nick Trenchard got off to a very strong
start, while the steady Albert Gill and the much improved Zach Fettinger
also presented a challenge. When Mark Wauge opened the season with a
feature win, it looked as if he might be a threat to win his
unprecedented eighth Modified championship at his home track.
Unfortunately, he blew a motor at the next race, and he seemed to
struggle with bad luck throughout the season. Three of Trenchard's five
Top 5 finishes happened in the first five races, including a second and
his first of two feature wins. However, his absence from a race elevated
Gill and Fettinger in this battle.

Fettinger had
everybody taking notice when he won three races in a four race span, but
his absence from the Speedweek race impacted his championship hopes.
Meanwhile, Gill earned three second place finishes and a pair of thirds
along with an impressive four Trophy Dash wins. It still came down to
the prestigious R Charles Snyder Salute, where the high number of stars
from out of town meant just making it into the Main Event would be a
chore. Gill made the most of his front row start in his B Main to punch
his ticket into the big show.

Fettinger, Meanwhile,
found himself stuck at the back of the pack in a B Main that was
destined to go non stop. He drove hard and got all the way to the third
position in a race that would only transfer two. This put Gill in a
position where he merely needed to start the season finale to clinch his
third championship in five years. For Fettinger, second was still a
career-best ranking for him as many people are calling him the most
improved driver of the season.

The steady David
Satterfield competed in all of the races and did well enough to drop
Trenchard to fourth in the final point run down. Despite totaling a race
car during the season in an unfortunate restart situation, Jantzen
Knips got another car and managed to finish the season in fifth in the
points. Knips had a fourth and a fifth as his season best efforts, while
Satterfield had three sixth place finishes.

It was
Collen Winebarger winning the Speedweek race while CJ Putnam won a good
battle with Bobby Hogge IV to win the invitational feature on the R
Charles Snyder Salute weekend. Hogge claimed the $5,000 first prize in
the R Charles Snyder Salute ahead of Merced Speedway champion Darrell
Hughes II and Oregon State champion Bricen James. The season ended with
Preston Jones winning a thrilling battle with Putnam for his first
career win. Putnam had a pair of seconds during the course of the year,
and Duane Orsburn also had a season-high second. 2017 champion Jesse
Bailey, Dave Duste Jr and Willamette champion Grey Ferrando each had a
third place finish. Duste and Andy Freeman each won a Trophy Dash.
Trenchard's first feature win of the season was notable in that it once
again came in the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race.

The
third season of The Late Model revival at Southern Oregon Speedway
featured a close championship battle between reigning champion Nathan
Augustine, the rapidly improving John Dees and rookie Miles Deubert.
Augustine had a new car for his title defense, and he kicked off the
season with a second and a first. When a lapped car crashed him on the
back straightaway of the third event of the season, Augustine was left
scrambling for a new ride. Somehow, he managed to hold on to his lead
and won his second Main Event of the season. This was followed by a
third place finish. The one-time Trophy Dash winner was in a position to
play defense at the season finale and cling to the championship, but a
blown motor while running in the Top 3 ended those hopes.

It
was John Dees who would get the job done in a rather impressive season.
Dees scored four second place finishes and two thirds in the first
seven events, but his absence from a race to attend a wedding forced him
to play catch-up. Dees won his first Main Event at his home track at
the sixth event of the season, but it was his division-leading fifth
second place finish at the finale that clinched his first career
championship. He also led the division with three Trophy Dash wins. His
championship margin was just four points ahead of Augustine.

Rookie
Miles Deubert surprised everybody by winning the season opener and
grabbed his lone Trophy Dash win at the third event before finishing
second in the feature that night. However, Miles made different
adjustments to his chassis in an effort to get quicker. It seemed to be a
step backwards, but his first, second and third place finishes in the
final three races guaranteed him third in the final rundown. Perhaps the
most improved driver in the group this past season was Coos Bay based
competitor Dave Foote. Dave picked up two feature wins during the season
and also had a pair of Trophy Dash wins to notch fourth in the final
standings.

2016 champion Bob Dees notched three season
best third place finishes along with one Trophy Dash win to lay claim to
fifth in the standings. Making lone appearances, Darren Coffel and
Trent Elliott each won Main Events. Other season highlights included
Mike Linder with one second place finish and Brian Bowman and Josh Sim
each with one third place effort. Car count continues to progress as the
Late Models are established as one of the featured divisions in
Medford.

Speaking of establishing divisions, the best
car counts of any of the track's regular divisions were had by the IMCA
Sport Modifieds. Drivers flocked to this division, and the competition
was tougher than ever. To illustrate just how tough it was, the only
driver to get more than one Main Event win during the year was Chico,
California star Tyler Rodgers. With two-time champion Mike Medel
following two-time champion Jorddon Braaten up the road on several
occasions, it was time for somebody else to step up and claim the track
title. Past Mini Stock champion David Marble, rookie Branden Wilson,
relative newcomer Tony Duste and Willie McFall were among the stars
vying for supremacy.

Marble entered the season with the
goal of earning Top 5 Main Event finishes and winning the championship.
Throughout the first half of the season, he accomplished the first
goal. He made his biggest statement at the opener with an impressive
feature win and had earned his three Top 3 finishes in the first five
events. This gave him a good lead in the championship race as they
entered the stretch run. David essentially had the championship clinched
just by just starting the season finale. Perhaps the surprise of the
field was rookie Branden Wilson. Wilson surprised past Yreka champion
Jimmy Lipke at the fifth event by making his move into the lead late and
claiming the victory. This also helped move him into second in the
championship chase.

Wilson still had to contend with
the trio of Duste, McFall and Tony Bartell nipping at his heels. McFall
entered the year hoping to contend for the championship, but his luck
took a nosedive after his season-best second place finish in the season
opener. He did pick up two Trophy Dash wins, but his Main Event luck
seemed to go from bad to worse. Duste was fast, but as this was still
his rookie season, he made mistakes along the way. Duste beat McFall by
just eight points in the race for third as Bartell was five points
behind McFall. Duste had a season high third place finish at the opener.
Though Bartell didn't get any Top 3 finishes, he managed a season best
fifth.

The Sport Modified battle was so wide open that
you really never knew who was going to win on any given week. With big
money on the line at the Roger Haudenshild Tribute race, past California
State champion Fred Ryland swept in and claimed the prize ahead of
Jimmy Ford and the first of two season-best third place finishes for
two-time champion Mike Medel. It was another Californian, Guy Ahlwardt,
impressively claiming the $2,000 prize in the R Charles Snyder Salute
ahead of Cottage Grove and Willamette champion Jorddon Braaten and
Daniel Ray. Tyler Rodgers won the R Charles Snyder Invitational Race and
another feature two months earlier to be the only two-time winner of
the group.

Other feature winners for the year were
teammates Braxton Possinger and Justin McCreadie, Matt Sanders and Doug
Coffman. Rich McCoy, Lipke and Ford each had a pair of second place
finishes for their season best efforts while Californian Brent Curran
also had one second place finish. Marble's one second and one third
place finish came during the first five races. Interestingly enough,
Medel was the only driver with two third place finishes as Duste, McCoy,
Coffman, Rodgers, Sanders, Ray and McCreadie each had a third place
finish. Joining McFall on the Trophy Dash winner's list were Duste,
Marble, Rodgers and McCoy.

The Bobbio's Pizza Mini
Stock division didn't have much of a championship battle at all. David
Steele carried a big advantage over the rest of the pack going into the
season. He was the most experienced competitor in the field, and he had
enough bad luck the year before for two seasons. It seemed that when
something went wrong with his car last season, it usually happened at a
time when he could deal with it and make it right for the next race.
Steele won an impressive nine Main Events with two second place finishes
in his 11 starts. He also won five Trophy Dashes. He clinched his
championship with two races left to go. Along the way, he took his spot
atop the track's all time Mini Stock Main Event win leader's list. As
one of the most respected and liked competitors at the speedway,
Steele's long deserved championship was well-received.

The
incoming reigning champion, Kristopher Mix was hoping to step up his
game. As a proud new father, however, he also found himself working on
race day and showing up during hot laps most of the time. He didn't miss
a race, but he struggled at times to get to the finish line. Mix had
one second and four third place finishes, but his season highlight came
when he passed Steele to win his first career Main Event. Unfortunately,
bad luck in the final three races dropped Mix back to fourth in the
final standings. Second-year competitor Hunter Magnan was much improved
with four season-high second place finishes and three thirds. He also
had two Trophy Dash wins, meaning he had second place in the standings
clinched going into the finale.

Past champion Steve
Goetz had a mixed bag of results during the season. After a hard crash
that left him with severe front end damage early in the year and
destroyed the Pinto Wagon owned by Andrew Hall, Goetz regrouped and came
back. He had three second place finishes and three third place finishes
to go with two Trophy Dash wins. Goetz was able to overtake Mix for
third at the final race. Garrett Fredrickson had his breakout season
with two fourths and one fifth place finish, which enabled him to hold
off rookie Michael McLeod by just 13 points in the race for fifth. After
a late start, Ashtin Hedges did everything he could to catch McLeod,
but he fell 12 points short. Hedges scored four fourth place finishes
and three fifths, while McLeod had one fourth and three fifths.

Past
champion Gary Anderson had one season-high second place finish and was
also a Trophy Dash winner once, but his season nearly ended after a hard
crash into the wall exiting Turn 4 during his heat race. Past champion
David Marble also made a couple of surprise visits, getting a third
place finish and outrunning Steele to win the season finale.

The
JOAT Labs Hornets division was a wide-open battle throughout the
season. Reigning champion Jason Stoutenburgh and second-year competitor
Brandyn Wonsyld led the charge early on. Stoutenburgh had second and
third place finishes before getting his feature and Trophy Dash wins at
the third event. Unfortunately, motor issues derailed his effort.
Wonsyld, meanwhile, was the dominant force in the division and the
surprise early point leader. Another surprise was the strong start for
second-year racer Ashtin Hedges. However, after two wins and a third to
go with his one Trophy Dash win, Ashtin parked to focus on his Mini
Stock effort. Wonsyld also skipped a pair of races to fall from the
lead.

This opened the door for unlikely championship
contender and top rookie Bree Tritchler to do battle with 2016 champion
Tim Hedges. Hedges remained perhaps the staunchest supporter of this
division as his team fielded as many has four cars sometimes. He had one
feature win during the season and a pair of seconds. He also won a pair
of Trophy Dashes. Despite some bad luck, he managed to lead the point
standings for a few weeks. Consistency was on Tritchler's side. She
picked up one feature win and an impressive five second place finishes.
She also had a third. She needed her fifth second place finish in the
finale to lay claim to the championship. Tim Hedges merely limped around
the track that night to secure second in the standings by just one
point.

Without a doubt, the championship was Wonsyld's
to win. The four-time feature winner and five-time feature runner-up
won the final two races in dominant fashion to secure third in the
standings. He also had a pair of Trophy Dash wins. Rookie Chris Boynton
managed to hold off Dylan Irving by just three points for fourth in the
standings. Boynton won a pair of Main Events and had one third place
finish. Irving recovered from a horrendous start and notched three
third-place finishes before finally getting his first career feature
win. He also led the division with five Trophy Dash wins.

Dylan
Sauer got off to a late start, but his second and third place finishes
in the final two races secured him a Top 10 point position. Other season
best efforts included season-high third place finishes for both Jenna
Hedges and Jeremy Mayfield.

With previous champion Lee
Doty and Bob Burkett not making a run at the points, the Valley Store
All Late Model Lites championship battle had a different look to it.
Charlie Eaton was poised to make a title run, but he could expect some
stiff competition from past truck champion Greg Arnold.
However,
Eaton remained as consistent as ever. Having shown his knack for getting
The 3 finishes over these past two seasons, Eaton took it up a notch by
scoring his three feature wins during the first five races. He was
particularly impressive in the July race that saw him win a close battle
between himself, Doty and Burkett. With an additional three seconds and
two thirds to go with his two Dash wins, Charlie never failed to finish
inside the Top 3. He had built a nice lead when Arnold missed a race
due to work obligations. Eaton wasn't threatened after that as he rolled
to the championship.

Arnold had an impressive season
as well with a win, two seconds and a third to go with his one Dash win.
He ended up a solid second in the standings. Father Eric Aos outran his
son Dusty Aos by nine points to claim third in the standings. Eric also
matched Eaton with three feature wins. Dusty Aos had a challenging
season with his two third place finishes happening during the first two
races. We did see Doty turn in a dominant performance in winning the
sixth race of the season. Doty also had a second and a third and three
Dash wins. Burkett showed up to pick up a pair of second place finishes
and a Dash win. When the points were tallied, Doty managed to claim
fifth in the standings ahead of Burkett. Danny Prewitt had a pair of
third place finishes in the former Bill Spencer car.

The
Southern Oregon Dwarf Car Association ran most of their races in
Medford, and car count was strong. The competition level was also very
strong as there were about a half-dozen drivers with a shot at the
championship going into the finale. Once again, two-time champions Brock
Peters and Josh King were in the hunt as was Camden Robustelli, Chad
Cardoza and Kalvin Morton. There were seven different winners in the 11
races held at Southern Oregon Speedway.

The excitement
was at the season finale. With two wins, a second and two thirds,
Robustelli was in a position to win the championship, but misfortune
struck him in the final race. After a tangle while running well enough
to win it all, Robustelli found himself having to charge through the
pack. Some bad luck during the year hurt Brock Peters. His second win
came in the finale as he also had one second place finish and one third.
However, his strong season ending performance wasn't good enough. With
his second place finish, King claimed his third championship. King
picked up two wins and a second as well.

King's
championship came just three points ahead of the tied Cardoza, Peters
and Robustelli. Cardoza had one win, two seconds and one third.
Robustelli's highlights also included two wins in Yreka. This was the
closest championship battle in club history. Even fifth-ranked Morton
was only four points out of the lead. He had two wins, one second and a
third in the finale. To make the final race, he had to borrow the Bud
Lorentz car. The great championship battle and strong car counts made
the Dwarf Cars a highlight of the season.

Other
impressive numbers included visitor Guy Tow winning the second race of
the season ahead of a season-high second place finish for Mason Lewman.
Cody Peters also scored a win and a second. Ageless veteran Fred Hay had
a season-high second and a pair of thirds. Nevada visitor Tim
Fitzpatrick came late in the season for a second place finish. The
ever-present Ryan Smith had a pair of third place finishes with Mac
Marmon and Jesse Lorentz also finishing third once each. A Dash winners
included Brock Peters three times, Morton and King twice and Smith and
Cody Peters once.

The other highlight for the Dwarf
Cars was the annual Dwarf Car Nationals event. Ryan Diatte won both of
the Pro features during the weekend, beating NorCal champion Danny
Wagner on both occasions. Marmon was third in the feature, while Darren
Brown was third in the preliminary. For the Veterans division,
Fitzpatrick won both nights, beating Kevin Bender and Fred Hay in the
preliminary and Mike Reeder and Bender in the feature. In the Sportsman
division, local star Bret James won the feature ahead of Michael Johnson
and Joe Sanders for a local sweep. Shawn Whitney won the preliminary
ahead of Sanders and Johnson. The Fast Dash wins went to Mark Hanson in
the Pros, Reeder in the Veterans and Whitney in the Sportsmans.

The
speedway also hosted the OTRO Hardtops on six different occasions. The
old time racers run for fun and trophies, but not points. Group
president Mark Minter won three Main Events and finished third once.
Bill Trotter, who fields two cars, won a pair of features and finished
second and third once each. Bill's son Dusty Trotter won the opener.
Driving Trotter's truck, Jay Smith scored a pair of season-high second
place finishes and won two Trophy Dashes. Dean Cast had a pair of
seconds and one third for his best efforts, while Justin Krossman had
one second and a pair of Dash wins. Roseburg 2016 champion Greg Hickman
made an appearance for a third place finish and Dilllon Rourke also had a
third. Chris Mehrer won the Trophy Dash at the final event.

The
Calculated Comfort Outlaw Pro Stocks were included at the Roger
Haudenshild Tribute and the R Charles Snyder Salute. Dr Scott Lenz won
the Haudenshild race ahead of Jeffrey Hudson and Steve Borror. The R
Charles Salute turned out to be a disastrous, crash shortened event, won
by Dave Quick ahead of Dan Randall and Chico competitor Gary Newman.
The group was added to the season finale, and a much better race was won
by Lenz ahead of Borror and Scott Flowers. Lenz was the association
champion and also won the Dash at the finale.

At the
end of May, the Northwest Focus Midgets brought 30 cars for their Salute
To Indy, and Jonathan Jorgenson won that race ahead of Tristan Thomas
and Garrett Thomas. Matt Loving won the A Dash. The Pro 4 Modifieds made
a visit as well, and Rick Wagner won that race ahead of Barry Lampert
and Thomas Ferrando. The Iron Giant Street Stocks returned for Disorder
On The Southern Border 2. They brought over 20 cars, and Andrew Langan
won the race ahead of Shannon Horn and Brian Cronk. Jesse Yankee won the
Scramble.

2018 was the most exciting season at the
speedway in recent years. There were many great moments to be had which
simply can't be included in this limited column, including the return of
the Malicious Monster Truck Tour. Thanks to the support of Dave's
Carpet and Vinyl, that show went on under less-than-ideal conditions to a
packed grandstand. The Monster Trucks, most of the great things
featured this past season and some new surprises are on tap for the
coming season. It's certainly a work in progress, but things continue to
get better at Southern Oregon Speedway.2018 Southern Oregon Speedway Point Standings2018 IMCA Modifieds
1 Albert Gill 299
2 Zach Fettinger 275
3 David Satterfield 256
4 Nick Trenchard 251
5 Jantzen Knips 248
6 Mark Wauge 215
7 Duane Orsburn 193
8 Dave Duste Jr. 187
9 Jesse Bailey 181
10 Jeremy Ohlde 165